DHS nurtures wearable tech for responders

By Matt Leonard

Oct 10, 2016

Ten startups will be working on EMERGE 2016, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s program supporting research and development of wearable technology for first responders. EMERGE 2016 expands on last year’s pilot that accelerated the delivery of the latest innovative wearable technologies for first responders by bringing startups, accelerators and strategic partners together in a common research and development effort.

“We need to find technologies for first responders that can be integrated directly into their existing gear,” DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology Reginald Brothers said in a statement. “The entrepreneurial world is on the leading edge of those inventive solutions.”

The startups will get feedback from first responders, industry professionals and business leaders to help them get their products to markets, which could include government, according to DHS.

The 10 startups selected for EMERGE 2016 were selected from 261 ventures from 149 different cities. The technology includes:

A provisioning and management platform that tracks users and their wearable devices, collects sensor data and controls approved applications and situational connectivity (Augmate).

The EMERGE program is led by a partnership between DHS, Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology, TechNexus and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

About the Author

Matt Leonard is a reporter/producer at GCN.

Before joining GCN, Leonard worked as a local reporter for The Smithfield Times in southeastern Virginia. In his time there he wrote about town council meetings, local crime and what to do if a beaver dam floods your back yard. Over the last few years, he has spent time at The Commonwealth Times, The Denver Post and WTVR-CBS 6. He is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received the faculty award for print and online journalism.